(Time for the next chapter let's get it going! Also I didn't notice it before until recently that I used Tsuchi from tsuchigomori for my ocs last name without thinking so it's a coincidence)

Chapter 6 The Misaki Stairs

He stood at the foot of a long winding staircase that lead through shrine gates and large buildings all around him. There were paper lanturns covering the place in an orange red glow of light.

"Y-yami... We aren't in Kamome Academy anymore are we.." Yugi's shock mirrored the spirits as both looked around the hidden area.

"Yugi, I have a bad feeling. We're trapped." Those two words made Yugi's heart stop.

It couldn't have been possible. They were still at school.. weren't they? Yugi walked forward over the bridge and through the shrine gate looking around at the buildings stacked on top of each other.

"How big is this place..?" Yami looking from side to side at the area around them as Yugi climbed a set of stairs just passed the Shrine gate. "M-maybe this is one of those Seven wonders Kou mentioned.. sadly nobody told us what they were about!" Yugi grumbled slightly irritated, mostly out of fear of where they were.

Yami took noticed of racks and racks of these small dolls in kimonos with short black hair with talisman on their faces. "Creepy..." Yugi had an uneasy expression his face paling as he looked wearily. Up a few more stairs, yami gave his Aibou's hand a squeeze trying to comfort the scared high school boy.

Just before they entered another shrine gate A phone started to ring nearby. "A phone..?" Yami spotted an old rotary phone as Yami urged Yugi to come closer pulling him along.

"Y-yami I don't wanna know who could be calling at a time like this.." regardless of his words he picks up the phone with his hand shakily as he puts it to his ear. "K-Konichiwa..." he stuttered slightly. He heard breathing on the phone. "L-let us out of here!" Yugi rushed out as the being on the phone spoke through.

"I am Misaki." It was a feminine voice on the other side of the phone. "I used to be a school teacher and taught students at the top of these stairs, but I was killed and sliced up here. Right where your standing." Yugi paled on the phone.

Yami was equally disturbed hearing the woman's words on the phones. "First I need you to find my right arm, I used this every day to write my name down on the board before class started each day. You have until the sand runs out of the hourglass. Hurry or you'll be late for school." The line went dead. Yugi looked like he was gonna throw up.

Yugi dropped the phone. He looked around. There were chest of drawers everywhere along the path and a giant hourglass in the distance with the sand already pouring beyond that was a locked gate enterance and 2 feet from that was a prayer house where people put candles and incenses for the dead. "D-does that mean we have to look..?" Yami hummed his agreement as he looked around. Lots of the things here were junk.

Yugi dug around in the mess and ended up finding something he wish he could unsee. It was a right arm... but it was cold and pale and felt like real skin. "Ahhhhhh!!!" He lands on his ass backing away from the arm. "ITS REAL!!!" Yami even for being dead himself cringed at the sight of the arm. "G-got no choice.. l-let's pick it up." Yami regretfully states as he touches the arm feeling bone chilling coldness from the dismembered body part as Yugi who was completely pale and looked like he would throw up picked up the opposite end of it as the two carried it.

Sadly getting it up the stairs was a pain. "Damnit why is there so many stairs!!" The high school student groans as they get it to the top of the steps but it takes too long as the sand runs out. The two look around suddenly feeling an ominous vibe. They could hear what sounded like children laughing, which already made the stressed out Yugi nervous. "It's time for class.."

Yugi looked around unsure what was going on as Yami shoved him out of the way. "Run Yugi! There's something here!" Yugi holding the dismembered arm in his grip turns and a scream catches in his throat as he could see clear as day the largest pair of scissors humanly possible that looked like it could cut they two of them in seconds. "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Yugi dashed up the stairs screaming but feeling something grabbed his legs as he looked down at the dolls that surrounded his feet.

"Aaaaahhh! Get off! Yami what do we do!?" Yugi kicked his legs shaking the dolls off as Yami tackles him to the ground both just hairs away from getting their heads cut by the giant scissors.

"Somebody Heeeeeeelp!"

Xxx

Kou and Yashiro get close to finishing the bathroom. Kou was getting worried. His cousin should've been back by now. "Something wrong Shonnen?" The shorter ghost dressed in black pokes Kou in the side of the head. He didn't pay attention to him. Yashiro spoke up. "Muto-Kun's not back yet. Is there anybody still in the school?" She looked out side as the sun was setting.

The two boys looked at her unsure as well. Kou put away the mops and buckets as the three left the bathroom. As they walked in the hall way at the top of the stairs, Yashiro saw a cellphone with a dark magician keychain attached. "It's Muto-Kun's phone. And someone's been calling his phone." Kou takes the phone from his short Senpai as he gasps.

There were texts messages on his phone. There was also missed calls but the text caught Kou's eyes first. They were from his friends in Domino city. Everyone but one had similar responses. 'Who are you and why do I have your number..' "Nani..? These are Yugi's friends. They don't know who.."His voice trailed off as he read the text from Bakura. 'Yugi what's going on? Nobody seems to remember you or yami. Please call me.'

Kou's eyes harden out of fear for his you get cousin. "H-Hanako! Where's Yako-neesan?!" He tightened his hold on his cousins phone, for both of his hands were shaking. Hanako took in Kou's reaction as he snatched the phone from him and reads the texts. "Masaka... how can number 2's rumor return to the state it was..."

Just as he spoke the one they were looking for was at the bottom of the landing just down the stairs. "Honorable number 7!" The female voice came out of a small pure white fox spirit at the bottom of the stairs. "Yako-neesan!" The two students called out at Hanako leaped down the stairs and approached the fox.

"What happened, number 2?" The fox had her face pressed into the floor sweating and shaking slightly. "G-Gomenasai! S-somethings wrong with the Boundary! I-it's not under my control. The rumor hasn't changed but.. I think a copycat took the boundary!" A copycat? This was new to the three. It wasn't something they've ever heard of nor experienced.

"I can't get into the boundary to chase away who's doing it. B-but a student went into the boundary, just hours ago.." Kou's already grim expression expanded as he grit his teeth his canines showing. "No... Itoko!!!" Kou ran down the stairs Hanako barely catching him as Yashiro tried to keep up with the now desperate junior exorcist.

"Shonnen calm down! We'll get him out! If it's anything like the last time we'll go in confront who's doing it and get out with your cousin." Kou knew what Hanako was saying was true. But he remembered how difficult it was for the three of them in the Misaki Stairs boundary. Yugi by himself with Yami couldn't do much.

"Let's go together Kou-kun." Yashiro strains a smile anxious as the other two were as she held their hands as the three of them walk down the stairs and counted the steps. "8..7..6..5.. 4!" Darkness swallowed them and it soon lit up as they appeared on the same bridge that Yami and Yugi were on earlier. The three took off running across the bridge and the first sets of stairs.

"Yugi!!!" "Muto-kun! Yami-kun!!" Yashiro and Kou both cried out. As the accended once again they noticed the first gate was open and inside the prayer house was a dismembered right arm.

"I-is that real..?!" Kou stammered as Hanako touched the arm pulling it out of the house to look at it. Hanako laughed awkwardly. "It's..real..." Yashiro shrieked at his words. "W-whoever took over the boundary... t-they made it a death situation..." Her sudden words made Kou and Hanako's hearts lurch with uneasiness.

"Yugiii!!! Where are you, Itoko!!!" Kou screamed. Yashiro held Kou's shaking hand as the three walked through the opened gate. As they continued the path way started to get a bit bloody for some reason which made the group including the already dead boy grow cold at the sight.

The path to the blood continued as they walked. They could hear someone crying and someone taking in hushed voice.

"Hang in there.. I know it hurts.." as the group rounded the corner they found the blood trail leading to the duo. "Yugi! Yami!!" The three rushed over to see where the blood was coming from. Yugi who had torn his shirt was tying the bit of fabric to Yami's arm which was deeply lacerated.

If he had been alive he'd be in serious trouble and need stitches.

Yugi had tears on his face out of fear for his partner while Yami was trying to console him. The duo looked up at them and got off the ground both looking at ease now. "Kou, Yashiro-San, Hanako.." Yugi's eyes were red from crying as he wiped his face, the blonde slightly taller cousin hugged him tightly.

"Gomenasai, Itoko.. are you alright?" The older boy nodded hugging his younger cousin tightly in return. the trio turned their attention to the inured Yami not understanding his situation.

"How..? How is Yami bleeding? H-he's dead!" Yashiro cried out in disbelief covering her mouth with her hands deep concern showed on her face. Yami grimaced in pain from the wound on his arm. Yugi pratically held on to his spirit partner unsure of what to do.

Hanako looked around. "Normally the blades when they cut you they turns parts of you into a doll... This copycat made it so you would be physically injured." Yugi helped Yami to his feet with Kou's help as the new student addressed Hanako.

"Hanako, you know this place. You've been here before. What the heck is this place?" Yami glanced at Hanako still holding his arm as he watched Yugi, steeling his nerves confront the leader of the wonders.

"Tell me what this is!" He grabbed the front of the ghosts shirt in his hands fear prominate the the boys eyes as he glared at the amber eyes ghost. Fearful amethyst eyes met calculating Amber eyes as the ghost pries Yugi's hands off him.

"We are inside number 2's boundary. The Misaki stairs. However, this is how the boundary used to look. You see Yugi, rumors is what keeps the apparitions alive in this school. And if they get changed the ghost have to change with it or lose their existence all together. We need to get to the top so Yashiro can destroy the Yorishiro." Hanako explains as they climbed the next set of stairs crossing under another shrine gate.

Kou's pocket was buzzing. He touched it and pulled it out. It wasn't his phone tho. "Kou? How come you got my phone?" Kou handed the ringing phone to Yugi. "You dropped it in the staircase." Kou comments as Yugi reads the messages left on his phone. Huh..? He was confused when he reads 3 of the 4 texts saying they didn't know who he was.

"What's the meaning of this Hanako!?" Yami took the phone from Yugi to read it. Hanako pulls his hat down over his face. "When you enter number 2's boundary your entire existence is erased from the living world. But don't worry when we get you back to the earthly plane you both will exist once again." Yugi and yami looked relieved that this was fixable. They just needed to be out of this place so they could go back none.

the group moved forward as another phone rang. Yugi nervously picks up the phone as the two students and two ghost gather round to hear the phone call. "D-Domo?" The feminine voice returns. "Find my left arm. I used this arm every day to pray for the children to have good day. Hurry or class will start."

Before the person could hang up Hanako spoke threateningly into the phone. "Yo, number 2... or is that even you? Whoever this is, your in deep shit when I get up there." From there the line went dead.

"D-Did you have to threatened the ghost..?" Yugi stanmers sweating at the cheeky little ghost who was grinning like a madman.

"We're gonna die..." Yami says sarcastically. Yashiro grabbed Yami's shirt hiding her face in his shoulder pleadingly. "T-take it back Yami-kun..!" Yami just made a noise not looking at the student who tugged on his sleeve pleading silently. He relented unwillingly. That made Yashiro smile and hug the ghosts boy.

Hanako pushed yami back from Yashiro which annoyed him. "Like I'm gonna steal your assistant..." Yami had a small tick mark on his forehead from dealing with Hanako's childish antics.

Yugi chuckles slightly as the group moves and rushes carefully to get the next body part which surprise was a dismembered left arm. "AAAAHHHHHHH!" Kou Yugi and Yashiro scream when Hanako waves it in front of the three freaked out kids which made Yami smack the 7th wonder in back of the head.

"stop playing around.." Hanako just stuck his tongue out at the poor ancient ghost. Luckily the group got the arm in the prayer house before the sand finished.

the journey up the stairs was a long one especially with the heart attack stunts Hanako continued to pull. They were at the final gate the 3 students pant hard. "Aghh.. I'll never take gym for granted again.." Yugi wiped sweat off his brow. Hanako put the last item in the prayer house as the shrine gate doors open.

"Now let's see who's causing all this commotion.." Hanako out of his student garb pulled a long kitchen knife and grips it tightly much to Yugi and Yami's dismay. 'H-he...he's got a knife!?' Yami instantly regretted all his previous words with the seventh wonder as the group walks through the shrine gate for the final time.

(I'm ending it early because I want the reveal of the copycat to be separate so enjoy this for now )